Flagler County Schools

Flagler schools plan radio ads to reach families

Published: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 8:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 8:48 p.m.

BUNNELL — Flagler County schools, you’re on air.

The first radio ads for the school district, featuring the voices of students and staff members, will air as early as this weekend. Timed to coincide with the end of summer break, the ads will promote programs to local families­ as they prepare to send their children back to school.

An increasingly competitive market is one reason school leaders are sharpening their pitch for potential customers.

“Certainly, parents have more choices now — we do have online education, charter schools, private schools, dual enrollment — there’s many choices out there,” said Sabrina Crosby, the district’s special projects coordinator. “In order for parents to make a good choice, they need the information. We need to get it to them and not expect they’re going to get it from us.”

Revenue from outside advertising on the district and school websites will pay for the ads, which will cost $1,000 for four dozen 15-second ads that will air on each of four Flagler County-based radio stations in August. A few St. Johns and Volusia County listeners also may hear the ads, but Flagler’s intent isn’t to draw students away from neighboring districts.

The first ads, which will be aimed at parents, will focus on offerings such as the New Tech Academy at Flagler Palm Coast High School and the MacBook Air laptops that will be distributed to every high school student. Listeners have heard Flagler County school leaders on the radio before, Crosby said, but this is the first time the school district has paid for ad time.

Families may also see the Flagler schools name and recently redesigned logo on promotional items, called “swag.” The school district used website ad revenue to purchase 36 water bottles, 1,000 silicone wristbands and 100 brightly-colored plastic sunglasses for a total of $608.

The marketing term “swag” is an acronym for “Souvenirs, Wearables And Gifts” or “Stuff We All Get.” Students wore the sunglasses and distributed a few pairs to spectators during the July Fourth parade in Flagler Beach.

Volusia County schools have no plans nor money for ads or other marketing materials, spokeswoman Nancy Wait wrote in an email. Parents will be able to receive news about Volusia’s schools through text messages this year, she wrote.

Social media may be Flagler’s next frontier, Crosby said, as district leaders hope to rely more heavily on text messages and websites like Facebook and Twitter to reach families who are increasingly tethered to mobile devices.

“We need to be able to get information to our stakeholders instantly, so we’re certainly exploring (social media),” she said.

Traditional public schools aren’t the only ones stepping up their marketing game. Palm Harbor Academy, one of Flagler’s two charter schools, has worked with Cindy Dalecki, owner of Palm Coast-based Marketing 2 Go, for a couple of years. The Palm Coast school pays Dalecki $95 per press release.

Principal Esther Hamilton said she doesn’t know the annual expense for Dalecki because Gillard Glover, chairman of the school’s board of trustees, handles the school’s finances. Glover did not respond to requests for comment. Palm Harbor especially needs to spread its good news after the school received an “F” grade from the state last year, Hamilton said. “Once you get a failing grade, that puts a bad taste in everybody’s mouth,” she said.

Some students who would have attended traditional public schools are turning to charter schools, Crosby said, but there are other reasons for Flagler County school leaders to make sure their message is loud and clear. Many residents, including voters who supported the school district’s request for a half-cent sales tax to fund technology and other capital expenses, don’t have school-age children.

“It certainly is a shift in our thinking; However, really, it’s accountability to our public — the public school system is accountable to our community,” Crosby said. “It’s important that we get information to our community and they know what our schools are about and about what education is about in 2013.”

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